Silver city becomes solar city

The $450 million project will have an ultimate output of 159 megawatts, enough to power 33,000 homes, and will be constructed across two sites; Broken Hill and Nyngan.

The Broken Hill site will consist of nearly a million solar photovoltaic (Solar PV) panels and will be built to the west of the city.

Construction is hoped to begin in 2014 and is expected to bring 150 jobs to Broken Hill and a further 300 to Nyngan.

The solar farm is expected to be operating by 2015 and is a joint venture between the Federal and State Governments and Australian energy company AGL.

"The Commonwealth will contribute $170 million and the NSW Government will contribute $65 million," Minister for Energy and Resources, Martin Ferguson said this morning.

"Form the Australian Government's point of view, this is a very substantial project.

"This go ahead to the project in Nyngan and Broken Hill is very very significant to the solar PV industry and also it represents a substantial statement by the Australian Government, not only in support of renewable energy but in our confidence of the development of the solar industry in Australia."

Minster Ferguson said a recent drop in the price of solar panels from places such as China meant the overall cost of the project, and therefore the government contribution, was reduced significantly.

The Mayor of Broken Hill Wincen Cuy says the project will provide a welcome boost to the local economy.

"It's an absolutely fabulous announcement for Broken Hill.

"150 jobs (and), I'm lead to believe, somewhere between 150 and 200 million dollars invested into the community.

"It's a great opportunity for Broken Hill to be, once again, put on the national stage as an innovator and a place to be and a place to come to work."

AGL is also involved in the significant Silverton Wind Farm project just north of Broken Hill and Mayor Cuy says the city is now well on the way to being known as the renewable energies centre of Australia.

"Broken Hill has been famed for the resources that it's been able to produce over the last 130 odd years.

"Now we could d become the renewable energy of Australia, how good would that be?"

"The total output of these farms is 159 megawatts and to get that done we... are going to have to install about 2.5 million panels.

"Together with the Federal Government, the NSW Government and our partners First Solar, we'll be investing a total of close to half a billion dollars in these regional economies of Nyngan and Broken Hill."

AGL says the Broken Hill and Nyngan developments are important to the entire renewable energies industry.

"It's important because at some point this decade, probably late this decade, it is possible that solar will supplant wind as the cheapest form of renewable generation."